How to Contact an Inmate at Cedar Creek Corrections (WA)

Good news: you don't need to fill out an application or go through any verification process to receive phone calls from Cedar Creek Corrections. If your loved one is allowed to place calls, they can call you directly. No approval on your end is required.

Each incarcerated individual gets a Personal Identification Number (PIN). They enter their PIN to start every call, and they're responsible for all calls made with it. In practice, the person inside controls when the call happens, and every call is tied to their PIN.

Keep it simple. Features like 3-way calling and call forwarding are not allowed. On the accessibility side, incarcerated individuals with hearing or speech disabilities can use a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD).

One useful detail: if you want to add money for phone use, you don't need to know the incarcerated individual's PIN to fund their phone account.

Steps

• ✓ Expect your loved one to initiate calls by entering their assigned PIN.
• ✓ Remember that your loved one is responsible for calls placed using their PIN.
• ✓ Fund the phone account if needed (you do not need to know the PIN to do this).
• ✓ Avoid 3-way calling, call forwarding, and other custom call features since they are not permitted.

Rules and procedures can change, so it's worth double-checking the basics. Confirm that no separate application or verification is required to receive calls, that the PIN process for initiating calls hasn't changed, and that 3-way calling and call forwarding are still prohibited.

Also confirm the current process for adding funds to a phone account, including what information the facility needs from friends and family. You shouldn't need the PIN to fund the account, but verify that's still the case. While you're at it, ask how calls made under someone's PIN are attributed so you understand how responsibility works.

1. Ask whether TDD is available and how it’s accessed. Confirm what your loved one needs to do to use a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD).
2. Ask what notice or documentation is required. Find out what the facility needs ahead of time (if anything) to set up or support TDD use.
3. Request the right point of contact for accommodations. Ask who handles disability accommodations questions so you can follow up if issues come up.